Hi! This popped into my head after a trip west and multiple hours with my sister and Justin Bieber. Playing. Continuously. So… here you go! I'm using Justin Bieber's songs because it was him who gave me the idea for this story. And, Natsume is not Justin Bieber. For one thing, he doesn't sing in a high voice. For another, he has a lot less haters. So don't tell me he needs to wear a hat, or that his favorite color is purple, or that he needs to do the whole 'one less lonely girl' thing. I get enough of that from my sister.

Gakuen Alice is all mine. Unfortunately, this is a fictional story…

And, this chapter had to be typed twice. Because apparently, if you accidentally push random buttons of the keyboard, an entire document that you are working on can disappear. And I type slowly.

And, I know I put too many comma's in my sentences. So I apologize for my comma fetish.

~Arian

They were screaming my name, the chant growing louder and louder. My stomach turned. Odd, I thought I usually don't get nervous. Oh well, maybe it was something I ate. The noise was almost deafening at this point, it sounded like they would tear me to shreds. Actually, given the chance, a large amount of them probably would. I listened to the sound. "Nat-su-me! Nat-su-me! Nat-su-me!"

"Natsume!" This one broke the pattern. I turned, glad to see Misaki rushing down the hall, her reddish hair twisted up into a messy bun. She was my manager as well as my bodyguard. If any rabid fangirl tried to attack me, she would be taken down pretty quickly. I had seen Misaki in action, and she could take down several men at once.

"Misaki." I wasn't big on affection.

"Here's your mike, the band is already setting up, you need to be on stage in 12 minutes. Here is the final song listing." She handed me a slip of paper and continued, "You should be ready for your cue, but you did fine in rehearsals." She glanced up and swore. "I told him not to put the spotlight there..." She headed for the ladder, still muttering to herself. I felt sorry for whichever lighting technician pissed her off.

I glanced at the paper in my hand. I hadn't released any new albums while on my world tour, so this was basically the same as my last concert. Now that school was starting, the tour was over, even though I skip school the majority of the time anyway. It was good to be home.

…

This annoying witch was chattering my ear off. 'Oh, Natsume loves me', and 'Natsume takes me out on the best dates', and 'Natsume is so romantic'. I love my best friend like a brother, but I was ready to strangle him for putting me on Luna duty. Being around the owner of the high-pitched voice describing what Natsume did in her dream last night just wasn't my idea of a good time.

"You know Ruka, if you acted more like Natsume, you could have a girlfriend as great as me too. Natsume makes the best boyfriend. Well, not as great as me. No one could be as amazing as me." Or as pathetic.

I sighed and slid open my phone. Koko had speed dial number three, and he was who I texted. "get here NOW." I figured he should help; he was the one who dared Natsume to date her.

After a minute, Sumire showed up. "Koko said you needed me?"

"Could you pretty please babysit Luna?" I gave her my best puppy dog eyes.

Sumire paused and looked at me. Then her eyes turned cold and she must have blocked out her sympathetic instinct. "No."

"Please? I don't think I can hold up much longer. She was… becoming descriptive about her fantasies again." I barely suppressed a shudder.

I could tell her will power to refuse me was weakening. Sumire knew how disgustingly crude Luna could be. "You are going to owe me for this. You will owe me big time."

"Thank you! As soon as the show starts, I'll be back!" I rushed away before she could change her mind. I didn't need to turn around to know she was glaring at me.

….

I stood on the stage hidden behind a large amp. The lights turned off, the amphitheater went black, and the voices dropped away. The bassist played one low chord, and the drums started to beat. Under the cover of darkness I walked out and stood center stage. I pulled the microphone to my lips.

"Oh! Wooah..."

I almost winced at the reply I got. The instant roar shattered my eardrums and then some. The lights came on.

"For you I'd write a symphony
I'd tell the violin
It's time to sink or swim
Watch him play for you

For you I'd be
Running a thousand miles
Just get you where you are
Step to the beat of my heart

I don't need a whole lot
But for you I admit I
Rather give you the world
Or we can share mine

I know that I won't be the first one
Giving you all this attention
But baby listen

I just need somebody to love
I don't need too much

Just need somebody to love
I don't need nothing else
I promise girl, I swear
I just need somebody to love

I need somebody I-I need somebody
I need somebody I-I need somebody"

Reo joined me on stage, and started singing his own verse. This song was one of the first I ever wrote after becoming well known.

"Every day I bring the sun around
I sweep away the clouds
Smile for me
I would take" I joined him on the next line, overlaying his voice with mine.
"Every second, every single time
Spend it like my last dime
Step to the beat of my heart

I don't need a whole lot
But for you I admit I
Rather give you the world
Or we can share mine

I know I won't be the first one
Giving you all this attention
But baby listen"

Now we sang together, switching off the vocals and the actual lyrics. Our voices blended nicely, the result of many hours of practice. Practice usually enforced by Misaki. Painfully enforced.

"I just need somebody to love
I don't need too much
Just need somebody to love

I don't need nothing else
I promise girl, I swear
I just need somebody to love

I need somebody I-I need somebody
I need somebody I-I need somebody
I need somebody I-I need somebody
I need somebody I-I need somebody

And you can have it all
Anything you want I can bring
Give you the finer things, yeah
But what I really want

I can't find 'cause, money can't find me
Somebody to love

Find me somebody to love

I need somebody to love
I-I don't need too much
Just somebody to love
Somebody to love

I don't need
nothing else

I promise girl I swear

I just need somebody to love

I need somebody, I-I need somebody
I need somebody, I-I need somebody

I need somebody, I-I need somebody
I need somebody

I-I need somebody
Oh oh oh oh oh...

Is she out there
Is she out there

I just need somebody to love"

…

I leaned towards Ruka. He had kept his word and retrieved Luna after the show started. "Does Natsume look… on edge to you?" I asked quietly. "He normally looks more composed."

Ruka nodded his head slightly. "I was wondering about that myself. Maybe it's just Luna?"

"Huh. And I thought nothing could faze him. At least the bet will be off soon."

…

I walked off stage. Ruka, Koko, and Sumire ran up to me.

"Great show, Natsume!"

I was about to respond to Ruka when Luna attacked me, squealing. Her strawberry blonde hair smelled like it had been freshly dyed. Nothing was real about her. Especially her 'enhanced' breasts that she was rubbing up against me. Damn, she was heavy!

"Natsume that was soooo amazing! You looked so hot up there! All the other girls were screaming for you but I was screaming the loudest! Could you hear me Natsume? I bet you loved hearing me scream for you!" All this was said in the space of four seconds.

I was about to shove her off me when I noticed Koko watching hopefully. So I hugged her back. Briefly. Sumire pulled Luna off me, scowling.

"You looked awesome, man!" Koko's cheerful grin was almost sickening. "Aren't you glad your girlfriend could see your concert?" And the last one, and the one before that…

"I did my best because I knew she was watching." I said this with a smile, but, other than Luna, my friends knew it was sarcasm. I punched Koko. Made it look like a friendly, playful punch. But I got satisfaction from the wince on his face.

I looked up. Plain brown hair fell into my mud brown eyes. I finished washing my hands. As soon as I opened the door, however, I jumped back into the bathroom. It was too loud out there. Was Hyuuga really that famous?

Flashback

"Please? Please pleasepleasepleaseplease pleeeeeeaaaaase?"

"Please Mikan? Please take us to a Natsume Hyuuga concert?" That was my Hikaru, calmly stating what she wanted.

"Pleasepleaseplease please pleaseplease please please pleasepleasepleaseplease…" And that was Aoi, who I didn't always want to claim as mine, practically bouncing off the walls.

I held up my hand. "Stop!" Aoi skidded to a halt. "Why do you guys want to go see his concert?" He wasn't a bad singer, he just didn't seem to be anything special. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to pay all that money.

"Because it is my duty as his future wife. I need to go to at least one of his concerts."

I glanced at Aoi. "How much older than you is he? And why do you want to go, Hikaru?"

"I like his songs and I've never been to a real concert." It was true, both the girls had all his songs on their iPods, and we didn't usually spend money on stuff like this.

Aoi wasn't happy with my implication. "It doesn't matter that he's older! He loves me anyway! When he sees me…" she walked off, talking to herself.

"Please, onee-chan?" Hikaru looked at me with huge blue eyes. I ruffled her curly blonde hair.

"Sure."

End Flashback

I had said sure, but the tickets had, apparently, been sold out. So I talked to the one person I knew who had enough connections to get the tickets.

Flashback

"Umm…. Hotaru?" No answer. I tried knocking on the heavy steel lab door again. I sang cautiously, "Ho-tar-u?" I was a little worried; if she was annoyed she would be volatile. And that's a side of her you don't want to see.

"What do you want baka?"

I shifted nervously. "I need a favor. Can I come in?" A robot opened the door. "I need tickets to the Natsume Hyuuga concert." I tried to hide my burning face, ducking my head shamefully. "It's for them- Aoi and Hikaru. I'll pay for the tickets, but I promised to get them, and they're all sold out."

Hotaru made a tsking sound. "You shouldn't make promises until you're confident you can keep them." She picked up a phone to her left and quickly dialed a number. Whoever was on the other side must have picked up pretty quickly, because Hotaru immediately started speaking. "This is Imai. I have need of that favor. I will email you, be ready to finalize my request." She then shut her phone, effectively ending the conversation. She went to work at her computer and I felt my attention drifting. I started to wander around her room, looking at various parts and inventions. Hotaru truly was a genius, albeit a sometimes evil one, but a genius.

"Here." My best friend's voice, in the stillness of the workshop, made me jump. I turned around to see her holding out six pieces of paper.

"What? I only need two…" I looked at the slips. Three were tickets, and three were plastic covered cards that read 'Backstage Pass'.

"Surprise them with the backstage passes. And you need to go. You weren't going to let them go alone, were you?"

"Oh…" I thought over my plan. "No, of course not! Thanks Hotaru!" I started to skip out of the room.

"That will be 60,000 yen."

"W-whAATT!" My shriek earned me a hit from the baka gun. "oww…" I moaned, feeling a bump rising on my temple.

"You're too loud. 7,500 for each ticket, and 10,000 for each backstage pass." Hotaru held out her hand expectantly.

"Wait," I said, trying to do the math mentally. "That's only 52,500 yen. What's the extra… 7,500 for?"

Hotaru smiled coolly, a small, calculating grin. "My services."

"Hotaru, you meanie. Why do you have to charge your best friend for your services?"

"This is for your own good. If you owe people favors, they can use it against you. And I want the money."

"Stupid Hotaru," I mumbled under my breath as I fished my wallet out of my pocket and handed her my debit card.

"Now leave. I have work to do." She picked up the baka gun and glared at me as I backed out of the room.

Flashback End

Ugh. I sighed. I really didn't want to go out there. The Hyuuga dude himself wasn't that bad, though he was probably full of himself. But thirty-thousand girls screaming their lungs out that they love him and begging him to marry them was not fun, as well as plain absurd. He'll probably end up marrying a famous model with a size zero waist. Not a random fan. His song was at its last notes, and then the concert would be over. I had hid out in the bathroom the entire time. I walked out, heading towards the front, scanning the crowd for Aoi and Hikaru. I spotted them, black hair flying all over as Aoi jumped. Hikaru stood there peacefully, steadily swaying to the music as she videotaped the concert. The camcorder had been a Christmas present from Hotaru, as Hikaru 'would need proof of the idiocy she had to live with'.

We were really close to the stage. The tickets Hotaru had given me were really good. I owed her a favor even with the services fee. She didn't even make me pay full price. Hotaru was really kind to those she was loyal to, even though she came off as cold, distant, cruel, unforgiving, and basically a mean person…

The concert ended. Aoi looked sad. I smiled. "Hey Aoi, do you want to meet him?" The price of the backstage passes was worth the look on her face.

She paused to draw air into her lungs. "…"

Hikaru had a big grin on her face. "Really?" she asked happily, "We can go meet Natsume Hyuuga?"

"Yep. Here, this is your backstage pass, here's Aoi's, and this one's mine. Ready to go?"

"Omigodomigodomigodomigod…"

I giggled and swung Aoi over my shoulder. "Well since all this sack of potatoes can say is 'oh my god', I guess I have to carry her to meet her future husband," I said teasingly.

"That's right!" She hopped down from her perch. "How do you think he'll propose to me? I can wear a beautiful dress on our wedding, and the stork will bring us lots of kids, and…" she spun joyfully down the hall.

I held Hikaru's hand and walked down the hall after Aoi. Maybe I should have the birds and the bees talk with her soon.

Room 3A was full of fangirls. Luckily there were only about twenty. Still, I wish they would all burn. Of course, I couldn't become an arsonist. That would be bad for my public image. Or so Misaki said. Youichi was here, and all the girls were staying away from him. Not because they didn't like him, but because of the death glares they received when they came near him. And because of a frightening Sumire standing next to him. She was playing with him now, and they were ganging up on Koko. Ha. That's what he gets for making me date Luna. At least I only had another week of dating her. Then I would get to make Koko do something embarrassing in public. I was looking forward to the end of this bet. I had withstood extreme physical torture; my headache would finally go away when I broke up with the shrill slut. Ruka and Misaki were back at the mansion.

"Hi Natsume! My name is Cho. I am one of your biggest fans! Can I ask you a question?"

"Hn."

"Okay, well, do you have a crush on anyone?"

"No." Her eyebrows shot up past her hairline.

"What about Luna Koizumi? Aren't you dating her?"

Not a question I wanted to answer. "You already asked your question."

But- okay, I guess you're right. Can you sign my tee-shirt?" I signed the indicated clothing, and another girl approached me. After filtering a few more fans, I started to walk around. There was one girl sitting on the couch in the corner. Her auburn brown hair was spread out on her shoulders. She looked bored out of her mind. I walked over to her. She looked up at me blankly. I couldn't breathe for a moment. She had these beautiful caramel eyes; they were perfect for her small frame and lightly tanned skin. I couldn't have imagined her being any prettier.

I sat beside her. "You know, acting indifferent around a celebrity is a cliché."

"What are you talking about?" She appeared startled that I had spoken.

"Acting like you don't care to get a celebrity's attention. Disney has done that so many times."

"Who are you? And do you really think I care about that Hyuuga dude? I'm just watching over my little sisters."

It was my turn to be shocked, but I did my best to hide it from her. Did she really not know who I was? I decided to ignore her first question. "Do your little sisters care about this Hyuuga person?"

She laughed. It was a pleasant sound, like little bells falling. Nothing like Luna's braying, snorting laugh. "Hikaru admires Natsume. Aoi… is obsessed. She keeps going on and on about how he is going to propose to her and all that. Have you heard about him dating that Koizumi girl? Aoi literally wants to kill her for dating him. She doesn't think that Luna is the right girl for him. I think he should be able to date whoever he wants. I almost pity him for having such a public life."

I chuckled darkly. Maybe I should hire that little girl to dispose of certain nuisances. She sounded too cute for that though. "How old is she?"

"She's twelve. They both are, actually. Twins." She smiled, she must really care for them.

"What's your name?" The attraction was there, I can't deny that much.

"Mikan Sakura. Yours?"

I paused. I was enjoying my little game. I couldn't lie to her however. I really wanted to earn her trust for some reason. "Hyuuga. Natsume Hyuuga."

She just stared at me, stunned. "N-no way. You must be his brother… with the same name… and…" Her cheeks were burning red. I smirked.

"You blushing? So you really do care for 'that Hyuuga dude'?" I asked, mimicking her words.

She visibly pulled herself together. "No. I was just surprised. I'm not anymore though."

…

I played with my hair, bored. I glanced up. Aoi and Hikaru were playing with a boy their age that had silver hair and green eyes. They looked content. Hyuuga must not be in the room, or Aoi would be going crazy.

I saw someone heading towards me. He looked close to my age, around 16. He had raven black hair and crimson eyes. He looked like he could be Aoi's older brother. He was wearing a dark red long sleeve shirt that was slightly loose but hinted at a well built body. He stood next to me, and I could feel his eyes watching me. I brought my gaze to his face. He was amazingly hot. He was even better than my sempai, and my sempai has turned down hundreds of girls. He won't date, and I can't figure out why, it annoys me becau-

"You know, acting indifferent around a celebrity is a cliché."

I jumped. He had moved to sit beside me. Hello, Earth to Mikan? He is talking to you. Say something. "What are you talking about?"

"Acting like you don't care to get a celebrity's attention. Disney has done that so many times."

"Who are you? And do you really think I care about that Hyuuga dude? I'm just watching over my little sisters." He looked surprised. Did he really expect everyone to be a Hyuuga supporter? I can't completely blame him though, I was at a Natsume Hyuuga concert.

"Do your little sisters care about this Hyuuga person?"

I laughed at that, it sounded like this guy wasn't a big Hyuuga fan either. "Hikaru admires Natsume. Aoi…," is insane? "is obsessed." I tried to describe the depth of her crush on Hyuuga.

He chuckled. "How old is she?"

"She's twelve. They both are, actually. Twins." I smiled, remembering the day they were born. Hikaru was brought out of the hospital room by dad five minutes after mom went in, and I got to hold her. I was a big sister! Then the doctor came out and told dad there was another. It took eight hours of mom's painful screams for Aoi to be born. I guess she was comfortable where she was, and she certainly took her own sweet time to be ready for the world. Or maybe she was giving the world time to prepare for her...

"What's your name?"

"Mikan Sakura. Yours?" Names first, then phone numbers… can't deny that I'm attracted. And a date would be nice.

He hesitated. "Hyuuga. Natsume Hyuuga."

I gasped. Here I was, talking about Natsume Hyuuga, to NATSUME HYUUGA.I was so embarrassed. "N-no way. You must be his brother… with the same name… and…" I could tell I was blushing. Natsume smirked knowingly at me.

"You blushing? So you really do care for 'that Hyuuga dude'?" The anger at his mockery helped me push aside my surprise.

"No. I was just surprised. I'm not anymore though." I forced the heat out of my cheeks.

"Uh- huh. So if I asked you out, you wouldn't squeal like the other fangirls in this room?" He smirked. I wanted so badly to wipe it off his face.

He is such an arrogant… ugh! "No. I'm not your fangirl." I searched for an excuse to escape and found one. "I have to go call my mom. Please be nice to Aoi and Hikaru. It would mean the world to them." I left, and began to walk aimlessly around the building.

…

She really didn't seem to care. Oh well, maybe I'll see her around. I'm glad I live around here. I pulled Sumire over to the side. "Who here is named Aoi Sakura?"

Sumire looked at me strangely. "The little girl over there is named Aoi, the one playing with Youichi. I don't know her last name. She looks a lot like you, I thought she might be your cousin or something." Well that explains the weird look.

"Thanks." I found who she was talking about and headed over to her. I playfully noogied Youichi's silver hair. How he got that color, I'll never know. "Hey Youichi, who's your friend?"

The young girl stood up She was wearing a frilly, red dress, her black hair in pigtails. Her eyes were even a dark crimson like mine. She did look like she was related to me, except her eyes were as big as saucers.

"Natsume-sama!" She flung herself at me. I caught her easily. She couldn't have weighed more than thirty-six kilograms. Another young girl stopped her conversation and came up to me with a gentle smile.

"Hello. My name is Hikaru. The mental patient hanging from your neck is my fraternal twin, Aoi. Fraternal because I got the brains while she got… the lack thereof."

Aoi shifted her petite body so that she was facing her blonde sister. "I heard that. And I'm not a mental patient, meanie!" She tilted her head towards me and smiled cutely. "Do you want to be my boyfriend, Natsume-sama?"

I tried to be kind for their sister. Her smile was reflected in Aoi's dimpled question. "I would like to be a boy that is your friend."

She pouted grumpily. "Hmph. It's because you're dating that horrible demon. She isn't right for you."

I kneeled down and beckoned Hikaru in closer so she could hear my conspiratorial whisper. "Can you keep a secret?" Hikaru nodded as Aoi rapidly bobbed her head. I guess Aoi got the enthusiasm. "I don't like her either -but you can't tell." I quickly tacked on the last part. Why the hell am I telling the secret to two kids?

Aoi gasped excitedly and climbed out of my arms, providing me with a good look at Hikaru. Her hair was extremely long, curling to her waist. Her eyes reminded me of the sea, cold and unforgiving at times, but relaxing when it wanted to be. I could picture a pair of similar ones, a warm amber. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. That was only because they were related. That's all.

…

I checked my watch. We should probably head home. I started to make my way back to room 3A, but had to stop and ask a security guard for directions. I'm slightly directionally challenged.

My phone rang as I dug it out of my pocket. "Hello?"

"Mikan"

"Nonoko? What's up?"

"Anna… she saw me kiss Yuu… she's crying…" I could hear the distress in her voice. Anna was a little saddened that no guy she liked had asked her out yet, and anytime she saw Nonoko and Yuu being their usual shy selves, together, she got depressed. It was understandable, since Anna was the type of person who loved and was loved. But ever since our hormones kicked in, she had been looking for more than friendship with guys. She just couldn't find anyone that was right for her. "Please help. I can't seem to make her feel any better, and in this case, I'm part of the problem."

"We'll be home in a half hour. I can come and try to help then."

"Okay Mikan, thanks. Bye"

"Bye Nonoko."

I finally found my way back to the room. I noticed that Hyuuga was talking to Aoi and Hikaru. Maybe he wasn't so bad, he seemed like he could be nice. He looked over at me, and as if know what I was thinking of, he smirked. Okay, scratch that, he was every bit as arrogant as I thought.

"Hey guys, we need to get home. It's already past your bedtime and you have school in the morning."

"Aww, nee-chan! Natsume-sama was just about to propose!" Aoi complained.

"He can propose tomorrow," I knelt down next to her and leveled our heights, "After you ace your test."

Right before we left, Mr. I'm-all-that grabbed my arm. "So why aren't you my fangirl? Do my songs suck or something?" He sincerely appeared curious.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "Your songs are fine, I just don't think that you yourself are anything special. "

He smirked again. Seriously, did he have a facial problem? "Well, when you decide I am something special, you can come and beg me to be your boyfriend. Who knows, I might take pity on you and agree. We wouldn't want your pride to be wounded when the famous Natsume Hyuuga turns you down."

I copied his expression and watched his confidence falter a fraction at my quasi-sadistic grin. "I wouldn't want a heartless jerk as a boyfriend anyway." There! Mikan Sakura can serve just as good as she takes!

…

That girl is annoying. I honestly don't remember ever flirting before, and now that I have, the girl turns me down. But I would make her like me. No one can withstand my charms. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been turned down, either. I fumed. She smirked at me.

"Natsume? Umm… are you okay?" Koko asked nervously from the passenger's seat.

I glared at him. Koko gulped and turned around to resume his conversation with Sumire as she drove.

"Onii, did you like that girl? She seemed really nice." Youichi's innocent jade green eyes searched my face. For such a little kid, he was pretty good at picking up on signals.

I softened my glare. "I saw you playing with her sisters. Were they fun to play with?" I could tell that he knew that I was shifting the subject, but thankfully he didn't pursue it. He simply nodded in response to my question.

"Natsume?" Sumire turned around. "We're home," she pointed out. The car was stalled in front of the mansion. We jumped out, and Sumire pulled into the garage. Misaki and Ruka had gone home a bit earlier, and when we walked in through the side door, Ruka was dishing ice cream out in the kitchenette. We each grabbed our snacks and joined Misaki in watching a movie in the basement. Our basement has a thick carpet, squishy leather furniture, and high quality electronics. There were some benefits to being the heartthrob of millions of girls.

My dad came in, his quiet footfalls barely making a noise on the stairs. "Sorry Natsume, I got busy painting and didn't even notice what time it was. I caught the end of your concert though. You did good." He gave me a small proud smile before going back upstairs.

I felt kind of sorry for him. Mom left when Youichi was born, so Youichi never knew her. I don't remember much about her, just that I inherited my looks from her and that she loved us very much. Dad is the one that really misses her. He isn't active in our lives very much because he feels closer to mom when he paints, and he often loses track of things going on around him. He isn't grieving her anymore, but he stills wears his wedding ring; he doesn't plan on remarrying. It doesn't bother me, I like being in charge of myself. That's why Ruka, Misaki, Sumire, and Koko live here. When I went on my world tour three years ago, I offered to take them with us. Ever since then, we've depended on each other like family; we eat, sleep, have fun, and, yes, fight together. I couldn't imagine not having them around.

…

As soon as we got home, I ran over and knocked on Mochu's door. When he answered with only a pair of pajama pants on, I averted my eyes. "You remember that favor you owe me? Good. Watch Hikaru and Aoi for me. They need dinner, peanut butter and jelly is fine. Aoi might need some help with her math homework. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, get them in bed. Thanks!" I closed the door behind me and ran upstairs. I live in an nice apartment complex for students of Alice Academy and I had formed some strong friendships with our neighbors. Mochu and I live on the second floor, my best friend Hotaru lives on the first, and Anna and Nonoko live on the third floor. It's convenient that they live close, because I need babysitters for Hikaru and Aoi a lot.

I knocked on the third floor apartment door. Anna and Nonoko and Hotaru both had two apartments. One for living, one as a lab. Nonoko and Anna shared the other third floor apartment as a kitchen and laboratory. Nonoko had already gotten a college degree in chemistry, but was still in high school for the rest of the subjects. Nonoko answered and brushed her sapphire hair out of her face. "She's in our bedroom. I can't get her to come out." I could see tear-reddened skin around her eyes.

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as I let myself in. "I'll go talk to her." Their apartment was really pretty. Nonoko had gotten bored one day and decided to paint the walls, and now there were pretty swirls in pale pink and teal all over their house. She had even made the paint herself, and at nighttime the swirls glowed slightly. It had a soothing affect, unless you had had a sleepover with ghost stories… then it was traumatic. I slid the door to Anna's bedroom open and peeked my head inside. She was crying quietly into her pillow. "Anna?" I heard her sobs become sniffles and she slowly sat up.

After I got her to calm down, I poured us some hot cocoa. The marshmallows always seemed to prepare someone for a spill session, and I put in three big ones.

"The thing is, Mikan, she would never leave me. She's too tenderhearted like that." Anna's voice rasped slightly from the previous crying. Anna wiped a tear from her cheek. "Yuu could propose to her, and she would say no simply because I would be unhappy without her. I feel like such a horrible person!" I hugged her gently and pulled her to my chest. "Anna, hush, Anna, Anna," I rubbed her back consolingly. "You will find someone. The right guy is out there."